Some people who are subject to immigration control and do not have the right to work are deemed to have 'No Recourse to Public Funds' (NRPF), welfare benefits, public housing or UKVI support. The NRPF policy affects a wide range of people who are subject to immigration control, including refused asylum seekers, visa overstayers, people subject to domestic violence, post-18 former unaccompanied asylum seeking children, people in the UK on spousal visas and some EEA migrants.

Local Authorities have a duty to provide advice to people with NRPF and to assist them in finding a solution. People with NRPF may in some circumstances be entitled to care services including accommodation and financial support. Local Authorities should undertake an eligibility test and an assessment of need in assessing whether they have a duty to support someone with NRPF.

The All Wales Age Assessment toolkit builds on the principles outlined in the All Wales Practice Guidance on the Care and Support of Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children which forms part of the All Wales Child Protection Procedures. The Practice Guidance was described as ‘a welcome step forward in assessing age’ by Zubier Yasdani, (solicitor with Deighton Peirce Glynn, specialising in children’s rights) and this toolkit builds on that work, encompassing best practice from a variety of sources. It is designed to enable a holistic, multi-agency age assessment of unaccompanied asylum seeking children, with guidance for Social Workers, Police, UKVI and other agencies on joint working.

Research

Uncharted Territory; New evidence on violence against women from asylum-seeker, refugee and migrant communities in Wales

Launched by the Minister for Local Government and Government Business, Lesley Griffiths AM, the 'Uncharted Territory' report identifies how women and girls facing extreme violence and exploitation are either too afraid to report the violence, cannot access a women's refuge because of their immigration status, or are unaware of what support is available to them.

The research highlights how women and girls within asylum-seeker, refugee and migrant communities continue to face levels of domestic violence which are likely to be comparable to, if not greater than those affecting Welsh women.

Report authors Dr Amanda Robinson and Jo Payton from Cardiff University and Anne Hubbard from Wales Strategic Migration Partnership, are now calling on the Welsh Government, Home Office, Police, Social Services and communities themselves to 'ask some of the difficult questions' as to why women and girls continue to face violence and what can be done to address the serious issues the report identifies.